UK telecom regulator Ofcom announced this week that it should be accepting applications for licensing ship-mounted earth stations by February, 2014 and is working with the Civil Aviation Authority to make licensing for aircraft-mounted devices available within the same time frame.

Regulations covering the exemption from licensing for land-based earth stations on vehicles (trains, for example) are expected to be in force by this summer. Ofcom said the first commercial deployment of the technology on vehicles in the United Kingdom likely to begin later this year.

Satellite earth stations on ships have been permitted in the United States for several years and recently, the licensing of earth stations for use on U.S. aircraft was simplified.

Ofcom said it is working with international telecom authorities to promote use of earth station technology globally.